Players push moves in salary cap spree

THE dark days of Super League could be back, and no NRL club is immune from the potential trouble ahead.

Knights coach Nathan Brown.

THE dark old days of Rugby League could be here again.

1997 saw player salaries sky rocket thanks to the emergence of a rebel competition — Super League — and a similar scenario looks like emerging in the NRL.

No, don’t expect a new competition to spring to life, but players are about to receive their biggest increase in salary since the rugby league world split in two — and no club is immune from the fallout.

The NRL salary cap is expected to rise around 20 per cent next year, which has seen both players and agents look to cash in.

Some switched-on player agents scheduled their players to come off contract to maximise their chances of a hefty deal (see the Wests Tigers ‘Big Four’), but it doesn’t mean it has affected just those on the last year of their deals.

There’s upheaval among some stars who feel they should also have the ability to renegotiate a recently signed deal or one with several years to run, to ensure they are getting a fair shake.

It’s quickly becoming a nightmare for all clubs in the NRL.

Souths star Cody Walker led the charge this week when he threatened to walk away should he not be given what he feels is his true market value.

Channel Seven Rugby League reporter Josh Massoud outlined the dilemma facing NRL clubs.

“He’s (Walker) not happy, it was well publicised that he wants more money,” Massoud said on The 7th Tackle.

“He’s on $160,000 at Souths, can you believe it, their best performer. Ranked about 19th on their roster by payment, but currently number one on performance.

“So not hard to see how he’s demanding an immediate upgrade.”

Cody Walker recently made his Country Origin debut.

The Walker drama also has a flow-on effect at another club.

Cronulla are fighting their own battle to try and keep James Maloney happy. The Australian international feels he is undervalued at the Sharks, given the recent money secured by a number of halves on the open market.

Maloney is believed to be on around $500,000 at Cronulla, but given the fact he was recently the standby player for Johnathan Thurston in the Australian side, that figure doesn’t necessarily reflect his value.

There’s no doubt Maloney would find a suitor willing to pay more, and it could lead the Sharks into a handy replacement.

“It’s getting worse. He (Maloney) did a radio interview at the weekend and he was very noncommittal about staying with the Sharks,” Massoud revealed.

“So guess who the Sharks are looking at to replace James Maloney? Cody Walker.

“There’s been some inquiries about that situation from Cronulla, obviously Walker would come a lot cheaper. He probably wants to come up to the $400,000-500,000 mark, which is not far from where Maloney is at the moment.”

James Maloney refuses to commit to the Sharks.

Newcastle (a potential suitor for Maloney) are not immune to the current crisis either. Star winger Nathan Ross has publicly criticised the club, saying he is underpaid.

Ross signed a two-year extension reportedly worth $150,000 last season, but is having a breakout season in 2017, and he wants to be remunerated properly for his rise.

“I think within the squad my stocks have risen a lot higher since I re-signed last year,” Ross told The Newcastle Herald.

“I’m not trying to bleed the club dry. I give everything I have for the club, not just on the field but the work I do in the community. I want to be paid what I deserve.”

Knights coach Nathan Brown dropped the fan favourite for his comments, meaning Ross will line up in NSW Cup this weekend.

Nathan Ross has called for his fair share.

Brown felt the stance was warranted for the public nature of his comments, but the Knights boss also outlined the real issue facing all in the NRL.

“We’re probably in a rare situation at the moment, for all clubs the cap’s going to rise a rather large portion, whether it’s 20 or 25 per cent, roughly in that vicinity,” Brown said at his scheduled press conference on Thursday.

“We haven’t seen this happen probably since the Super League days and rightly so, players that are on contract and probably not earning what their current market value is would probably like to get a piece of the pie.

“We’re seeing this at every club, it’s not only the Rossy situation, but there’s certainly ways you handle it and I’d suggest Rossy didn’t handle it in the correct manner. But we’ll move forward and get over it.”